Figure 6

Citation

Charles Paxson (New York). “Our Protection.” 1864. Gregory Fried Collection. Mirror of Race, 11 Feb. 2021, mirrorofrace.bc.edu/items/show/145. Accessed 18 May 2024.

Title

Our Protection

Subject

Our Protection

Creator

Charles Paxson (New York)

Date

1864

Type

Studio Portrait

Identifier

Figure 6

Rights Holder

Gregory Fried Collection

Original Format

carte de visite, albumen print

Factual Commentary

Charles Paxson has selected the three “whitest” from among the “Slave Children from New Orleans” —Rosina Downs, Charles Taylor, and Rebecca Huger —to pose them literally wrapped in an enormous American flag. Paxson has titled the image “Our Protection” because the flag symbolizes both the Union army, that had taken New Orleans and given former slaves such as these the opportunity to escape bondage, and because of the foundational principles of liberty represented by the flag that Paxson and other abolitionists sought to make the goal of the war as a fight to end slavery, not just to preserve the Union. By 1863, the war exacting an enormous cost in lives and treasure, and Paxson seeks to reinforce what is worth fighting for in the conflict.